Filled to the brim with fascinating news-makers, Splendour Forum presents a menu of meaty treats for your mental appetite.

Each day, great thinkers, industry heavyweights, politicians, artists, scientists, activists, journalists and music tastemakers will weigh in on the big issues. Featuring panels, debates, interviews, Q&A sessions, documentaries, light-hearted literary salons and philosophical talks on a range of modern day issues and ideas, and more. All killer, no filler - prepare to be inspired and provoked at Splendour Forum.

Deadlock TV Series

Deadlock TV Series

Locally-made drama series Deadlock (for which local auditions were held at Splendour Forum in 2016) crashes though the incredible highs, joys, heartbreak, camaraderie, laughs and bittersweet sorrow of what it is to be a teenager. A clandestine tunnel party in the depths of the hinterland draws kids from all over the area, but when a spectacular stunt goes awry, ultimately leading to a car crash, a group of five teens are left to forge new alliances which trigger events that will transform their lives and the idyllic town forever.

11am-12pm

Growing up outside the metro-hubs of Melbourne and Sydney can be challenging. Byron Bay boasts spectacular beaches, a balmy climate and alternative culture that make it a mecca for young people from all over the world. Alternatively, Adelaide has a national reputation for being the country’s most “boring” city, a notion Adelaide-locals RackaRacka have rebelled against with the massive success of their intense YouTube channel, boasting over 695 million views internationally. Hosted by comedian Cameron James, a panel including Executive Producer and Byron local Deb Cox (Every Cloud Productions), writer and director Billie Pleffer and cast members Bijou Gracie Henry (Laila), Paddy Swain (Charlie) and RackaRacka twins Michael & Danny Philippou (Ned & Jed) looks at the highs and lows of growing in regional Australia. The conversation will explore how Deadlock weaves in the stories and experiences of young people growing up across the country, the culture of Byron Bay, with access to music and world culture framed against the high cost of living, unemployment, pressure to leave home and where you have to make your own fun.

Consent post #metoo

FRIDAY

12.30-2pm

Panel: Consent in the Post #metoo World with Henry Rollins, Tracey Spicer, Stella Donnelly & more

The #metoo movement has swept through the entertainment world like wildfire, bringing down a number of high-profile men who have used their positions of power, authority and fame to sexually harass and assault women (and less powerful men). As the hashtag went viral last October and an international movement sprang up almost overnight, other workplaces were quick to follow, including politics, academe and the male-dominated tech industry. After being inundated with reports of similar stories here, Australian television journalist Tracey Spicer kickstarted local organisation NOWAustralia to support and advise people experiencing workplace sexual harassment.

But the #metoo movement has thrown up all sorts of other questions, including the often-complex nature of sexual harassment, assault and abuse; what constitutes consent in a sexual encounter of any kind; and how we define and recognise it in our everyday lives. In this frank conversation hosted by artist manager and equality advocate Leanne de Souza, we look beyond #metoo to what happens next - how do we navigate intimate, social, professional and cultural spaces? What does it mean to give your consent? Should it be “enthusiastic sexual consent”, a concept raised as a possible benchmark in a recent high-profile sexual assault case? Where do the boundaries lie with respect to your body, your words and your physical space, whether that’s in public, in the workplace or online? What is tender vs toxic masculinity? And what can we expect of ourselves and each other in our behaviour, actions and words? Leanne is joined by Tracey Spicer, artists Henry Rollins,Stella Donnelly and Nkechi Anele (Saskwatch),lawyer and author Bri Lee (Eggshell Skull) and music industry sexual assault taskforce campaigner Helen Marcou and Your Choice representative Stacey Piggott.

Cyber Hacking

Cyber Hacking

FRIDAY

2.30-4pm

Panel: Cyber Hacking & Stolen Elections: Is Trust Dead?

For a while Facebook was your best f*&k buddy. Then you discovered it was sleeping around behind your back with Cambridge Analytica, who was busy passing on your boyfriend’s d*&k pics to Trump’s presidential campaign and the Brexit mongrels. Silicon Valley’s questionable ethics are finally being challenged – but is it too late? A slew of high profile breaches left millions of people’s data exposed to the steamy hacker underworld in the last year. Yet the Government is about to pass a law that your secure messaging apps have to be breakable by design so governments can read them. What could possibly go wrong with that?

Come hear the 2018 Splendour Hackers make sense of it all. (Bela)Rusian whitehat hacker and world-renowned Security Researcher at Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs, Vitaly Kamluk will demonstrate how cyber deceptions and psyops work. Hacklabs CEO Chris Gatford takes a break from his job breaking into IT networks all over Australia to show you the best ways to defend yourself - and your credit card. Tech Privacy expert Peter Tonoli, of NGO Blueprint for Free Speech, explains how your privacy gets slurped away legally. IT security architect Barry Anderson tells how nations are hacking the hell out of each other in a race for online world domination. And how troll farms and automated fake news are just the start of what’s to come. Panel host Dr Suelette Dreyfus, from The University of Melbourne will slide you into the dark hall of mirrors where your data disappears to the highest bidder.

Morning Book Club

Morning Book Club

SATURDAY

10-11.30am

Panel: Saturday Morning Book Club with Marieke Hardy and special guests

Renowned bibliophile and co-host of ABC’s iconic The Book Club for 11 years, Marieke Hardy will host a panel that brings together lovers of words, literature and all things bookish. Several artists including musician Alex Lahey, comedian Broden Kelly (Aunty Donna), Opera Queensland Artistic Director Patrick Nolan, rock ‘n’ roll graphic artist Paul McNeil and ABC journalist and 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson will nominate ‘The Book That Brought Me Back To Life’ and enjoy a Saturday morning discussion exploring the connections between their Art and the novels that have inspired them. Marieke is also the co-founder of the world-renowned literary salon Women of Letters and is Artistic Director of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival.

Third Culture Kids

Third Culture Kids

Third Culture Kid is a term used to describe children brought up for most of their childhood in a culture other than that of their parents or another culture that is different from the cultural heritage of their family. With more and more artists using their platforms to promote their culture, the way in which artists present their identity, artistic merit and creativity has seen a recent social shift.

The Pin is a website created in 2016 by Nkechi Anele (Saskwatch frontwoman and host of triple j’s Roots ‘N’ All) and Lucille Cutting (ABC producer), exploring race, identity and culture in Australia from the biracial and bicultural perspective. Join them as they chat to hip-hop artists Ziggy Ramo and Ebony Boadu and comedian Michael Hing about what it means to be a Third Culture Kid and its impact on the way they see themselves and their art in Australia today.

Marc Meets Rollins, Alex & Lauren

Marc Meets Rollins, Alex & Lauren

SATURDAY

2.30-4pm

Interviews: Marc Meets Rollins, Alex & Lauren

The Feed’s Marc Fennell (SBS VICELAND) interviews three of the world’s most interesting musical performers live on stage. Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand, Henry Rollins and Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCHES will each open up about their lives, music and the issues that matter to them.

Her Sound Her Story

Her Sound Her Story

SUNDAY

10am-12pm

Film & Panel: APRA AMCOS Presents: Her Sound Her Story

New music documentary Her Sound Her Story unveils the personal experiences, histories and significant social impact women have had in the Australian music industry over the past 50 years. Co-presented by APRA AMCOS, this unique, all-female narrative features conversations with more than 40 women including artists Tina Arena, Jen Cloher, Missy Higgins, Julia Stone, Nai Palm, Montaigne and Mojo Juju, and industry insiders such as journalists Zan Rowe and Kathy McCabe and sound engineer Anna Laverty. Discussing their personal journeys, they reflect on their collective and unspoken struggles of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, but hopeful that change is on the horizon. After the film, join much-loved ABC broadcaster Robbie Buck as he chats to the film’s creators Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore and Michelle Grace Hunder, along with special guests Hannah Crofts (All Our Exes Live In Texas) and Alice Ivy’s manager Zac Abroms.

Apocalypse Fatigue

Apocalypse Fatigue

SUNDAY

12.30-2pm

Panel: Apocalypse Fatigue and the Planet Gamechangers

We’re all concerned about the future of our planet but decades of doomsday predictions around the effects of global warming have led to what’s known as “apocalypse fatigue.” Overwhelming messages about melting ice caps, flooding coastlines, destructive storms and fires, and devastating species extinctions are no longer enough to shock us in to changing our behaviour to make a difference. These days, scientists and influencers need clever alternative platforms for their messages to cut through. Join Linh Do, the Australian head of Al Gore’s climate change leadership program, The Climate Reality Project, as she chats to three leading Australian gamechangers, That Sugar Film’s Damon Gameau who is making a radical new film about climate change, marine biologist and plus-sized model Laura Wells, and superstar astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy, about how they reframe the debate and find fresh and exciting ways to inspire others.

Q&A with Tony Jones

Q&A with Tony Jones

SUNDAY

2.30-4pm

Q&A with Tony Jones

ABC rockstar journalist and Q&A host Tony Jones returns to Splendour with our annual festival edition of Australia’s favourite two-way show that brings punters, pollies and pundits together to thrash out the hot issues of the day. Splendour’s Q&A won’t be on ABC TV, but punters can experience democracy live in action when ToJo is joined by 5 panelists from across the political spectrum:

Sussan Ley (Lib), a former Minister for Education, Health and Sport in the Abbott and Turnbull Governments, she has a background in farming and aviation.

Dr Mehreen Faruqi(Greens)is an MP in NSW Parliament and the first Muslim woman elected to an Australian parliament. She will join the Australian Senate as NSW Greens Senator on August 1. A civil and environmental engineer, she made history by introducing the first abortion decriminalisation bill into NSW Parliament and campaigns for drug law reform.

Helen Marcou co-founded SLAM (Save Live Australia’s Music), the largest cultural protest in Australia’s history. Inducted to the Victorian Women's Honour Roll in 2017, she’s a member of the Victorian State Government’s Live Music Roundtable , the Victorian Sexual Harassment and Assault of Women in licensed venues Task Force and a Melbourne Writers’ Festival program adviser.

Vitaly Kamluk is the Director of the APAC Research Centre for Kaspersky, a Russian-based company making anti-virus software used around the globe. He worked in the INTERPOL Digital Crime Centre specialising in malware reverse engineering, digital forensics and cybercrime investigation. Originally from Minsk in Belarus, that country to the left of Russia and just above Ukraine if you have no clue.